1. TRAFFICINFORMATION
data
fusion
Ludovic Broquereau and Jean-Luc Chazarain outline how a collaborative
effort will deliver a powerful tool designed to optimize road operations, as well
as providing a high-quality service to motorists and drivers of heavy trucks
Images courtesy of ASF and Orange Business Services
B
usinesses and public organizations stress. But that also means that expectations traffic on the environment, especially given
are constantly evolving to offer for accurate and efficient real-time traffic that 25% of CO2 emissions and 50% of NOx
ever more effective services suited information are very high. Motorists need to emissions are caused by human activity.
to the respective needs of their be able to plan ahead. They need improved
customers and citizens, particularly in this geographical coverage of traffic information, meeting the needs
era of instant information and the internet. improved geographical coverage of Major technology innovations have recently
Real-time traffic information is an effective communication media (delivery of traffic led to new types of traffic information. The
catalyst to support the challenges that information upstream from decision points solutions that exist, however, only partially
road operators and local authorities face along the itinerary), as well as widespread meet needs. Data collection systems, such
in managing and organizing sustainable dissemination of journey times or expected as loops, sensors, surveys, etc, are costly
mobility and efficient transport systems. delays in the event of a crash. and complex and offer poor scalability.
From a motorist’s point of view, real-time From a local authority or road operator As a result, the coverage of real-time
traffic information generates real benefits, standpoint, real-time knowledge of traffic information is generally restricted
especially when considering increasing events and congestion on a network also to traditionally ‘highly equipped’ road
road congestion and fuel prices. Personal guarantees improved effectiveness in road networks (poor traffic information outside
productivity gains as a result of optimized operations. This allows them to contend of major roads and motorway networks).
routes are clearly tangible and easy to with the big increase in road traffic, optimize From an end-user perspective, RDS-TMC is
monitor through time savings and lower infrastructure usage and travel, and avoid still the main solution used ‘on-trip’, and few
fuel costs. Positive impacts on safety are congestion – the cost of which is estimated exist to serve the growing market of devices
also directly measurable through adapted at 2% of European GDP. Additionally, it and media, such as smartphones, connected
behavior such as calmer driving and reduced allows them to lower the impact of road GPS, the apps market, and so on.
TRAFFIC TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL FEBRUARY/MARCH 2010
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2. TRAFFICINFORMATION
PARtneRshiP’s AmBitiOns Real-time data collection and analysis Real-time
The ASF (Autoroutes du Sud de la France) information display layer data
fusion and traffic
and Orange Business Services partnership information
is intended to supplement and improve the platform
collection of traffic information through
new technologies aimed at making road
operations more effective and safe. A data fusion and traffic indicators
further goal is to position real-time traffic
information in transport as a high value- XmL web service
added service, to allow authorities and
operators to better serve citizens.
Transport infrastructure operator ASF
was founded in 1957 and currently operates
a 2,634km network, with an additional
81km under construction. It connects the
Iberian Peninsula with Northern Europe and
carries major European business, significant
tourism flow, as well as a large amount of
regional traffic. ASF is a subsidiary of VINCI,
a leading integrated concession-construction
group. For a number of years, it has been
developing advanced tools and algorithms
for traffic management that are a benchmark
in the field, as evidenced by the various
international awards that have been received
(IBTTA, EasyWay European program, etc).
Orange Business Services, meanwhile,
is an expert in real-time communication
solutions in the transport sector and is the of Orange via its Orange Labs to produce or directly integrated into a road operations
leading mobile services provider in France. so-called floating mobile data. Orange Labs and traffic management software streamlined
With 87% of the population given 3G/3G+ has leveraged its experience in network for local authorities and road operators.
coverage at the end of 2009 and 99.6% planning and traffic management on wireless By combining their knowhow and
2G coverage, Orange offers the largest networks to investigate this expending aggregating their respective content, ASF
– and most extensive – mobile coverage in domain and to unveil a new concept. and Orange Business Services will offer
metropolitan France, passing the threshold Orange Labs has been developing a new extremely reliable traffic information,
of 25 million mobile customers in December platform embedding complex algorithms updated every six minutes. This includes
2009. Overall, it has positioned itself as able to process signaling data stemming spot speeds at a given point on the road
a driving force behind innovation for the from communications in vehicles on the network, traffic conditions, journey time,
transport sector to provide its network with move, and to combine them with network and jams with more effective tailback
proficiency, integrative strengths and market simulations to determine, in real-time, an detection and clearance time indications.
knowledge to serve the development of accurate value-added traffic information This new solution has the advantage
real-time information and communication – traffic speed data. Processed data is – through adaptation on Orange France’s
solutions aimed at all transport players. anonymized to fulfill privacy policy. mobile network – of being more simply
and rapidly implemented, on a large-scale
basis, across the entire French road network,
“Its scalability allows the targeting of large including roads not previously covered. This
clears the way to major benefits for local
monitored spots at a reasonable cost, because no authorities or road operators regarding their
projects for road traffic information with
dedicated hardware infrastructure is required” limited operating and maintenance costs,
and no additional investment in dedicated
data collection infrastructure.
UnPReCedented inFORmAtiOn The solution is a breakthrough as it
The solution is based on a new source doesn’t require any calibration process, initiAL PiLOt dePLOYment
of innovative, rich and effective traffic any onfield measurements, and keeps A first operational pilot is currently deployed
information that combines data from the up-to-date following network evolutions. with an objective of delivering real-time
mobile network with traditional road Its scalability allows the targeting of traffic information on nearly 1,200km of
sensors. ASF collects traffic data provided by large monitored spots at a reasonable road network from Toulouse to Montauban,
numerous sources (sensors, traffic counting cost, because no dedicated hardware Auch, Albi, Castelnaudary, Pamiers and
stations, cameras, patrols, etc). Expertise and infrastructure is required, apart from Saint-Gaudens, including motorways,
knowhow has been acquired by the operator that in mobile networks. national and departmental highways, and
to extract from these sources advanced real- The platform developed by ASF collects peri-urban expressways, stretching 600km
time information and indicators, enabling and analyzes data gathered in real-time using in both directions. The perimeter covers the
effective operations of a road or motorway traditional systems and then aggregates and different types of traffic (urban, peri-urban
network, as well as enabling the easy merges it with floating mobile data produced and long-distance) active in this region. n
understanding of events by motorists. by Orange. The real-time aggregated data
Orange Business Services draws primarily flow feeds ASF’s road traffic software platform Ludovic Broquereau is director, Business Development
Traffic Information Services, ASF/VINCI, while Jean-Luc
on the network of Orange mobile base to calculate value-added traffic indicators Chazarain is business partnership developer at Orange
stations throughout France, as well as on (saturation level, journey time, etc). The Business Services. For further information, please
the innovation and engineering prowess output is available as an XML web service email ludovic.broquereau@asf.fr
TRAFFIC TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL FEBRUARY/MARCH 2010
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